All in a day's work: Tommy Hayes, music therapist, Crescent Comprehensive School/University of Limerick

To the strains of Lyric FM I load up my poor car with 40 borrowed instruments - guitars, and keyboards, drums and xylophones, whistles and shakers. It takes six trips to get every last bell up to the classroom by 9.30 a.m. when my first client arrives. Thus begins an intense day of 40-minute music therapy sessions, back to back.

My clients are students at risk of leaving school early. The Early School Leavers Programme is amazing. Each kid in danger is assigned a mentor to help him or her identify strengths, awaken an interest in learning and build his or her confidence in the education system. Music therapy is just one part of that process. Crescent Comprehensive School is a pretty forward-looking institution.

Each therapy session is unique. Some clients come to listen and relax, some come to learn an instrument. Others come to write music and, through this process, they express what's going on in their lives. I learn a lot from them. Through music, they can get past their inhibitions and express underlying problems in a non-verbal medium. This is a safe space where they learn to trust and to form an identity. There's no pressure. Education can be very pressurised.

Learning an instrument contributes a lot to a person's confidence and focus. This eventually reflects on their experience of school. They can find an identity that does not rely on academic achievement and this, conversely, enhances their ability to perform in an academic context. Sometimes people worry that artistic outlets distract children from their studies. I think they are critical to a child's development.

I have been a professional musician forever - I was a freelance percussionist for 15 years. Funny thing is, as soon as I heard about music therapy I knew it was for me. When it became available as a Master's course in UL I knew I had to go for it. It was an intense two years. Medical, psychiatric and geriatric placements - very different from the life I had known as a musician on the road.

My life now is as busy as before, but at least I get to sleep in my own bed every night. I still do the odd gig, with Mairtin O'Connor or Altan. I do a bit of film work too - my last gig, for the film Titanic, brought me to LA. That's an occasional treat.

In the evening ,I'm part of a team that runs an access programme in the University of Limerick, for a gang of 13 years olds. We write songs, record them, choreograph dance routines, produce videos - it demands a lot of hard work and concentration from these young people and helps them to appreciate what they are capable of.

When I'm not in UL, I take private clients. The demand for music therapy is slowly growing. It can help people with physical or learning disabilities in a whole range of ways - gross or fine motor co-ordination, listening, turn taking and boundaries.

There are about 30 working music therapists in the State today. Where conventional therapies don't work, music therapy can fill the breech - banging the hell out of a drum is a great way to express anger.

• In conversation with Louise Holden